Bloomfield, NJ Invasive Plant Rules: Bamboo Restrictions (2026)

Article III of Chapter 423 treats bamboo more broadly than any other plant it regulates. The definition in § 423-19(B) covers all native and non-native bamboo and states that bamboo means plant species commonly known as running (monopodial) or clumping (sympodial). The definition is not limited to the genera it lists: Arundinaria, Bambusa, Chimonobambusa, Dendrocalamus, Fargesia, Phyllosta, Pleioblastus, Pseudosasa, Sasa, Sasaella and Semiarundinaria. A clumping species gets no pass.

Section 423-20(C) imposes the duty to confine existing bamboo. Where running or clumping bamboo is located on any property in Bloomfield Township before the effective date of the section, the owner and occupant are jointly and severally required to confine it to prevent encroachment, spread, invasion or intrusion onto any other private premises or public place. Section 423-20(A) carries the same confinement duty for any invasive plant planted on a property and says owners are strongly discouraged from planting invasive plants at all. The article prints no setback distance or barrier specification. The test is whether the bamboo stays on the owner's property, and § 423-20(B) lets the owner remove it entirely instead of confining it.

Section 423-20(D) provides that failure to confine requires removal, at the expense of the owner of the property from which the plant originated. The owner or occupant has a defense on establishing, to the satisfaction of the Township Inspector or Municipal Judge, that the bamboo originated on another property.

The Township Health Department or its designee investigates after a complaint or observation. Under § 423-21, notice goes to both owners by certified and regular mail, the bamboo owner submits a removal and restoration plan within 45 days, and the work is finished within 120 days of plan approval. A neighbor keeps the right to seek civil relief in court (§ 423-22(D)).